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Cas found beauty in many things that the Earth had to offer. The swirling colours of a parrot’s feathers, an ocean tide during a full moon, the sound of a baby’s first cry. There were many more, too many things for him to list in one sitting. However, out of everything, he always had a strange fascination for winter snow.
He wasn’t sure exactly why, there were an abundance of reasons. One being that, in a way, snow reminded him of back home. Heaven -- the white serenity, the purity. Heaven may have been corrupted in recent years, but for the millenniums before that, it was nothing but pure. Yet, he also loved snow because it wasn’t like his former home. A place where the simplest of wonders were never appreciated. Wars were fought, battles were triumphed, battles were lost and orders were obeyed. There was never a time prior to his travels on Earth, where he got to appreciate the subtleties of his father’s creation. Things such as snow, in the way that each snowflake has its own unique pattern. Or how humans far and wide celebrated the weather phenomenon with such passion and joy.
These were just some of the reasons why he loved the snow. But mainly, it was because it made him feel.
It was Christmas time and this December, Cas had been able to bear witness to the cultural festivities of the Western civilisation. Occurrences such as bright, flashing lights strung on frost covered roofs and the celebratory songs constantly repeated across many radio stations (Cas could pick up on their frequency and at first he enjoyed it, yet after a while, it became repetitive and agonising). During his travels into town, he overheard many conversations about Christmas dinners -- a time where families would gather upon feasts of food to commemorate the holiday.
He understood the basis of the holiday for most: Jesus’ birthday. Yet no matter how many times he tried to explain that Jesus’ birthday actually was not this time of year, or that Christmas trees were actually a pagan tradition rather than a Christian one… his human friends would not listen. Cas in the end let them be, considering they’d rarely celebrated the holiday growing up. They had a childhood that was ripped away from them at far too young of an age. The best he could do is let them relieve some of it now.
Which is why he found himself out in the snow, letting the numerous sensations tingle over his body. He felt the wind in his ear and smelled the scent of the cold snap and tasted the tiny molecules of ice on his tongue. Sometimes, just sometimes, when people described Heaven on Earth… he understood what they meant.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trench coat before closing his eyes. While snow was beautiful to look at, feeling it was decidedly a lot nicer. To feel the cold on his skin and the way it travelled down into his lungs, it was an experience that Cas decidedly was glad he went human for. He would never have been able to experience this to its fullest capacity if he were still an angel. And while he missed his strength, his wings, his grace. If he were ever to become an angel again, he felt he would miss this more.
“Cas, you out here?”
Cas hummed. “Yes. I am over here, Dean.”
He listened to creak of the floorboards as Dean walked across the front porch, followed by the sound of his boots crunching in the snow as he made his way towards Cas.
“Shit Cas, what are you doing out here? It’s freakin’ freezing.” Dean muttered as he reached Cas’ side. They were close in proximity, so close that Dean’s shoulder brushed against his.
Cas could feel the warmth of Dean’s body heat.
“I like it out here.” Cas admitted. “Snow is lovely.”
Dean huffed and immediately, he knew his friend didn’t agree.
“Sure,” Dean drawled and Cas could detect a mocking tone in his voice. “It’s great! Oh, except for when it causes road closures causing you to get trapped in a dodgy ass motel. Or when the snowfall is so heavy one night that it snows your car in. Oh! And don’t even get me started on black ice.”
Cas realised that all of Dean’s issues centred around his car and driving. He supposed that was normal, considering most of Dean’s life was lived on the open road.
“Ah, well, yes.” Cas said, opening his eyes. “But you have been a human for far too long. For me, the wonders of this world are only just beginning to amaze me.”
He turned to look at his friend, who looked smaller than average all bundled up in winter gear. All Cas could see was his face and he noticed the way his nose and cheeks flushed a pale pink from the cold. Dean stared back, green eyes unwavering.
Cas looked away and back out into the open space of the junkyard, where the ground and multiple heaps of cars were covered in white. He heard Dean shift beside him and before he could glance a look back, he felt his friend’s hand grip his shoulder. He eased into the touch, the feeling familiar and comforting. While Dean was not opposed to sentiments such as hugging, Cas knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t a fan of them being a regular occurrence. He also knew that Dean preferred to initiate them, rather than receive them.
The hand on his shoulder, the lack of personal space -- it was Dean’s way of showing affection. While Dean did this with everyone, Cas was observant enough to notice that Dean’s touches always lingered with himself. It was Dean’s way of telling him that they were something, something more than just a friendly relationship, without having to actually say it.
Dean hated labels and Cas was indifferent either way.
Eventually, Dean dropped his hand and Cas missed his touch already.
“I guess you’re right.” Dean chuckled. Cas heard him shove his hands back into the pocket of his jacket. “Just… just don’t say out here for too long, okay? I don’t have to remind you that you aren’t invincible still, right? Germs and viruses are a real thing now for you, Cas.”
Cas rolled his eyes fondly. “Yes Dean, I’m aware.”
“Good.” Dean began to walk back to the house, but Cas heard him pause. “If you are looking for something to amaze you, you gotta try some of Bobby’s signature hot cocoa. That is sure to blow your mind.”
“I look forward to trying it.”
When Dean was safe inside, Cas gave one more gaze of the property and gulped in one last taste of the cold, sweet air. He then turned around and made the journey to join his friends back inside. The snow could wait.
Because to Cas, there were many beautiful things on Earth -- snow being one of them.
Yet, there was also nothing quite as beautiful as Dean Winchester.